Nationalist leader slams Macron over anti-Islam remarks

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Oct. 27 slammed the French President Emmanuel Macron over his controversial plans on “Islamist separatism” and continued publishing of blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Macron is “ignorant” and has strong “hostility” towards Islam, Bahçeli said, while addressing his parliamentary group meeting.

He called on Macron to focus on his country’s “real political issues.”

Bahçeli identified the French leader as “political schizophrenic.”

“How dare this political schizophrenic says to restructure Islam... The only true religion in the sight of Allah until the Day of Judgement is Islam,” he said.

Islamophobia is increasing in Western countries at an “alarming level,” he said and urged Muslim nations to show their unity and solidarity “against the tyrant and imperialist conspiracies.”

“Religious polarization will be a disaster for humanity,” he added.

The debate over France’s policies toward Muslims has been gaining new impetus after the murder of Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed during a class on freedom of speech. Caricatures of Mohammed are forbidden by Islam. this month in France of the teacher.

Macron vowed this week that his country would not “give up cartoons” depicting the prophet.

Macron this month described Islam as a religion “in crisis” worldwide. He said that the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France. He announced stricter oversight of schooling and control over foreign funding of mosques as well.